Quick Money Making Ideas For Article Writers

Many people are looking for the way to make a fast buck nowadays. I'm one of them. However, we need to understand a basic truth - to make money you need to work for it. And to make money faster, we need to work smarter. The quick money making ideas I am about to share with you deal particulary with this site, Hubpages.com, though they could truthfully be applied to any site out there.

So, as not to bore you throughout this discussion, I'll try to keep things light, lively, and interesting, while making sure you get an education you can bankroll later. You're reading this to discover how to make more money, right? Well, I'm going to give you all of the howsand whys. So, buckle up, switch your mind into learning mode, and be prepared to understand how online affiliate marketing can earn you an extra income!

We all have knowledge to share. Every day we learn something new, and many of those things have value to others. If only we could get paid for what we know ...

Well, we can. All we need to do is discover which ideas are worth money and which aren't, then write about the ones that will line our pockets. Pretty easy, right? That's the concept of keyword research ... finding about topics that will make you money. And that's why Adsense exists ... to profit from such keywords. (If you haven't signed up for it already, be sure to do so after reading this article.)

For today's discussion, our first stop will be the Google Adwords Keyword Tool, affectionately known as GAK (which sounds more like something you do after a night out on the town).

I have already dedicated a whole topic to the use of the Google Adwords Tool for keyword research. Here's the link ... I'll wait here anxiously until your return ... I promise. :)

So, you're back for more, eh? I hope you found a good paying keyword or phrase, because now we are going to put it to use to make money for us. In fact, the first secret to making money online is to find a good paying keyword or phrase.

Of course, it might help if we first understood why the keyword is so important. I offer this little story as a fine example.

Two little boys sat on opposite street corners selling kool aid. The one boy had a brisk business going, whereas the other had barely seen a dime. Wanting to make sense of it all, I walked up to each stand and sampled their kool aid. To my surprise ... they both tasted the same. So, why was the one boy out-competing the other?

I walked around town trying to figure it out when I saw a little girl offering small dixie cups of lemonade for free. To be nice (aw heck, it was hot out) I took the sample and found it tasted quite well, but wasn't enough to parch my thrist. She then pointed down the street to the boy that was making all of the sales and told me I could get more there ... for a price. It was the oldest sales trick in the world, and it worked, as I went back for more lemonade.

And why did I tell you that story?

To issue an important point ... the secret to selling anything is to help people discover you are actually selling it.

Seems pretty basic, eh? After all, would we sit in our basement with a hundred gallons of kool aid and expect anyone to come buy it if we never advertised it?

Of course not ... and yet, we do it all of the time ...

By not advertising what we have to sell, our product will never move. That's the second secret to making money online.

We now have a good keyword, and we understand the need to advertise. Great! So, how do we use this information?

Glad you asked! Let's roll into this, eh?

Your keyword is the topic you will write about. For example, if you looked up 'fishing lures' in the Google Adsense Keyword Tool, using the methods I described in my other article, you might have already discovered that northern pike fishing lures is a decent topic to write about. Not a lot of hits, but it does pay decent whern it does.

What? You looked up something else? Well, that's all right. The process from here on out is the same, regardless of what topic you picked, though I find it incredulous to believe you didn't pick fishing lures as your topic to research. I'll still help ya out, but I intend to keep an eye on you as you do tend to wander off ... and so you should ... as different people are interested in different topics. That's why there's so much to wite about ... and to profit from. Nice, eh?

Where was I?

Oh yeah, next we need to discover how good of a word we chose. We already know it's a money maker and gets a decent amount of hits a month (ads pay $3.61 a click and it had 390 exact hits last month - not stellar, but workable).

So, why would I pick this keyword? Well, something I forgot to add in my other article is that you need to know the level of your competition. After all, the less competition the better, right? That's why I do a little extra research - and this is secret number three - never swim in an overly crowded pool! By this, I mean that you never hit a topic that is already flooded. And how do you find that out? You google your keyword or phrase.

Go into Google and type in your keyword phrase like so "northern pike fishing lures" (remember to use the quotes). What pops up is your competition, and just below the Google line you will see something like this: Results 1-10 of about 36,800 for "northern pike fishing lures (0.34 seconds)

The 'of about' part is what we are interested in. The lower the number that follows, the better our odds are, as it makes for less people to compete with. Idealistically, you should never compete when this number goes above 100,000 and I would go as far to say that the best number to work with is below 40,000. Remember ... the less competition, the better your odds.

This keyword has a decent competition level, so we can rank okay on this one.

When people search Google for something, they tend to stop as soon as they find what they are looking for. By going higher up the Google ranking, you appear closer to the first page and get a better chance at visibility.

With that said, one would think your chances are slim to none on any competitional level over 10, but that's just not true. By placing your article on a site that has great strength (such as Hubpages, Digg, and StumbleUpon) you add a lot of weight to it, and that will help it bubble it to the top ... and we will discover another secret later that will make it rise even further.

So, it's safe to say that a competition level of 40,000 isn't impossible to work with.

When you create your page, use your keyword in the title of your page and in the URL. If you need to add more words to make your URL or title unique, then add them to the beginning or the end of your keyword or phrase - never in the middle - lest you dilute what you have working for you.

Next, write a great article with excellent content. Yep, that's correct, you need to write to make money, and you need to do it well, and this is where many websters will disagree, as a lot of them believe it's all about creating links to your work and not so much about content.

Believe the others, if you will, and their ways will get you up the ladder of Google for a time, and then you will see your site drop like a rock. Content is King and backlinks are the Queen ... but I will get more into that when I'm ready. For now, it's important to learn what good content is, and why it will help you burst up the Google ladder.

First off, you need to write more than 400 words to be considered a valid source on anything - and you do want to be considered a valid source on your topic. I recommend no less than 1000 words and find 1500 to be even better. Becoming an expert on your topic is a meccessity, and that is secret number four.

Why? Because if people believe in what you have to say they will link to your work. This is called 'organic linking' and happens without you doing any extra work. These are the links that can shoot you to the top, but they also are the toughest ones to get. That's why you need to be an authority on your topic, so as to garner the trust of others and earn their backlinks to your page.

And how does one get such notice? By writing in an informative style that cares nothing about making money. Yep, that's right! Your goal at this point is to write the most informative and interesting article you can. Throw in all of the bells and whistles. Make yours 'the page' to go to for info on your topic. If you do this, then others will see you as an authority on the topic and the organic links will come with time.

In chemistry we learned (many, many years ago) that you need a catalyst to start a chemical reaction. Without that initial spark, nothing will ever happen. That's why we need to light a small fire to get things moving. This is secret number five.

Going back to secret number two, we know that advertising is important, but how do we advertise? Well, there are two different routes to use.

Route 1: This one involves a bit of work. You need to write an article related to your current article (and yet, different enough to be considered its own article) and then link it to your current article. This is called backlinking. In doing so, you hope that your first article will be found and then readers will follow the link to your current article. This method does work, but it also involves twice as much work, as you must write two articles to profit from one. Of course, you might also tie them together and make a cyclic link, allowing each article to advertise for the other. A great site for writing such articles is www.ezinearticles.com.

Route 2: This one is missed by most, though it works just as well. Sign up for the following sites if you haven't already: Tweeter, Facebook, and Myspace. You can find each service by googling it.

So, what next? Well, you start by placing a link in Tweeter to your new article you just created. From there, you use the tools on Tweeter to add those links to your Facebook and Myspace pages as well. This creates three backlinks to your site.

Of course, some would say, who would follow those? In all likelihood no one, but they do establish links for Google to follow, which are treated as votes for raising your site up the Google ladder. And provided you placed your article on a social networking site (such as Hubpages) the other users of the site will help give the votes needed to keep things moving forward.

The final secret is to write more articles.

I can't stress this one enough! You can't make a lot of money from just one article. To see any kind of decent profit using this method you will need to write at least 100 articles, which makes one wonder ... how does one make money quickly using this method?

Considering one can work their way up to an extra $100 in six months, I consider that better than investing in a money market CD. And it gets better ... For you see, this is a passive income. Once your pages are set in stone on the internet, they will continue to bring in profit for you. That's right ... Write 'em, profit from 'em, then forget about 'em. Continue on this cycle and you will see your passive income increase over time, and that's the quick part of it ... for as you write more articles and link them together you will see them improve on their earnings faster, because they will pull from the strength of your older related articles.

Which brings us to secret number six ... always link your articles together when you logically can. For instance ... if you wrote an article about fishing boats, then you could link it to your article on fishing lures. One could easily see how a person might go from one article to the next, doubling the odds to profit. That's where the quick part comes in. Of course, you need to build your foundation to get to this point and that's what this article is all about.

I believe in rewarding patience, and I also believe in allowing a person to borrow my tools if I can be certain they won't abuse them. As you have made it this far, I believe you are one who can be trusted, so I will share with you those things you can write about that have better odds at making money.

1. Product Reviews - You own many products in your house. Some lived up to your expectations and some didn't. Share your honest experience, as others are out there actively seeking it.
2. Money Making Tips - Times are touch, with many people looking for a way to make extra income or to save what they have already earned. Show someone a way that truly works and they will tell others ... forming a pathway to your door.
3. Recipes - People still cook and they grow tired of making the same dinner every night. Serve them up your delicious ideas to spice up their late night cuisine.
4. Health Tips - Many of us want to live healthier lives. By offering health tips you better the lives of those around you, which is a really good thing.
5. Instructional How-tos - Everyone wants to know how to do something. Show them how!
6. Destinations - We all seek to escape some time in our lives. Provide that exciting escape, by giving your readers a taste of an area that might be of interest to them.

There are many others, but these cover most of the major categories. Think of articles that could fit into one of these six categories, and you have quickly found yourself a possible money making idea. Then, using the tips I showed above, make money from that idea. It's just that easy.

And why would I wait until the end to share that ... because I already know something about human nature. Had I shared those six categories first, many would have ran off to write articles about them, made no money, then come back to blame me fore their lack of success. Only those bold enough to read it all will have the determination to do it right ... and only those will profit from the information. That's how it should be, as rewards should come to those who will work for them.

So, as I know by now that you are serious about making money and that you have the tools you need to do it, I will bid you a fond farewell and as a helper I will reiterate what I have taught you:

1. Choose good money-making keywords
2. Know going into this that you will need to advertise your articles to profit from them
3. Never choose a keyword that is already overused
4. Write the kind of content that will get noticed by many
5. Create meaningful backlinks to your article
6. As you write more articles, logically link them together

Absolutely! There's always more to be learned, but one must master the basics before moving on.

What I have shown you today will help you establish a passive income that will (with time) help pay the bills. However, if you want to retire from your job you'll need to learn so much more. As I, myself, have not reached that plaueau yet (I'm working on it), I'm not the person to teach that lesson, but when I do get there I'll be certain to share what I have learned.

What I have seen is how (by following the methods given here) one can create an income that will allow for some extra luxuries in life, and that's what many of us strive for right now. It's not about becoming rich as much as it is allowing ourselves a bit more comfort in our lives.

So, that's all I have for you for now, and I do hope to hear back from those who chose to employ this system and found themselves making a nice tidy profit.

Until then ... Keep writing! :)